Syracuse, N.Y. — Tyler Roberson's bags were packed. In anticipation of the new school year at Syracuse, the freshman basketball forward from New Jersey had organized all of his stuff and prepared to load the family car and drive with his dad to Syracuse.

All he needed was a simple permission slip from the NCAA to turn the key and start the ignition on his college career.

And when he got it, after he sweated the days and nights of uncertainty and worry, he shared the news with his dad and his mom and then breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The NCAA determined last month that Roberson was academically eligible to enroll in school and play as a college freshman.

"I was really excited," Roberson said. "It was probably the best news all summer."

"He couldn't believe it," said SU assistant Mike Hopkins, who primarily recruited Roberson. "You know, you go through wars with people and when you come out of that war, there's no greater feeling because you put so much time, effort, energy into it. And I was just so happy for him, that he could go to college."

Roberson was one of five Syracuse freshmen who participated in the program's annual media day Friday afternoon in the Melo Center. Hopkins said Roberson and Chino Obokoh, another Orange freshman who was cleared by the NCAA late last summer, were a step or two behind their classmates in terms of understanding the offenses and defenses. Roberson, too, strained a hamstring, which set him back further this fall.

But the raw athletic tools, the developed offensive skills and the fearless way he attacks during Orange practices explain why recruiting services rated Roberson in the top 35 nationally in his class.

"He's an attack offensive player," Hopkins said. "He runs the court, hits the offensive glass, has a scorer's mentality, with the ability to block some shots and be a very athletic defender. Very, very talented."

Roberson considers his versatility his best basketball asset. He has played mostly power forward in practice (perhaps because of Jerami Grant's damaged finger), but can easily shift to small forward. Roberson said he acquired his aggressive court nature from his AAU coach, who consistently prodded him to believe in himself and his game.

Those confidence-building directions gave Roberson a fearless edge.

"The kind of player I am, I like to get after it," Roberson said. "I'll take on anybody."

Roberson said he was aware of the competition and believes SU's stocked forward cupboard will only encourage him to try harder and improve his skills.

Boeheim acknowledged his team's depth at center and forward and said playing time for Roberson, or anybody else for that matter, "works itself out" as the season progresses.

"I just come out here and practice every day," Roberson said. "I think I'm deserving of playing, but that's ultimately up to Coach Boeheim. The only thing I can do is go out and play to the best of my ability."

That he made it to Syracuse is worth celebrating.

Roberson said B.J. Johnson and Chino Obokoh were the first teammates he saw on the SU campus and both congratulated him on his arrival. His teammates, he said, welcomed him to Syracuse and helped ease his late transition.

"In my mind I knew I'd be here," he said. "There was no reason for me not to come. If anything, it was pretty much ... I don't want to say annoying, but yeah, pretty much it was annoying."